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| Chaos Grips Hungary Train Station as Migrants Remain Stranded | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| LONDON — About 2,000 migrants remained stranded near the Keleti train station in central Budapest on Wednesday, and hundreds of passengers were delayed overnight on five Eurostar trains after migrants blocked tracks near the French port of Calais, as Europe continued to grapple with a surge of desperate migrants. | LONDON — About 2,000 migrants remained stranded near the Keleti train station in central Budapest on Wednesday, and hundreds of passengers were delayed overnight on five Eurostar trains after migrants blocked tracks near the French port of Calais, as Europe continued to grapple with a surge of desperate migrants. |
| In southern Europe, at least 11 migrants drowned when two boats sank after leaving southwest Turkey for the Greek island of Kos, Reuters reported, citing the Turkish news agency Dogan. | In southern Europe, at least 11 migrants drowned when two boats sank after leaving southwest Turkey for the Greek island of Kos, Reuters reported, citing the Turkish news agency Dogan. |
| The developments served as a reminder that while much of the focus of Europe’s humanitarian crisis in recent days has been on the influx to Hungary, Austria and Germany, countries across the Continent are still struggling to deal with the increasing numbers of migrants. | The developments served as a reminder that while much of the focus of Europe’s humanitarian crisis in recent days has been on the influx to Hungary, Austria and Germany, countries across the Continent are still struggling to deal with the increasing numbers of migrants. |
| Tens of thousands of migrants, buffeted by conflict in the Middle East and Africa, have been seeking refuge in Europe, only to find themselves confronted with a patchwork of incoherent asylum policies across the 28-member bloc. At the same time, anti-immigrant sentiment, stoked by far-right political parties, is fostering a backlash in some countries, including in Britain, France and Hungary, where those parties have influenced the political agenda. | |
| The Keleti station has become a hot spot in the crisis, and it was still cordoned off Wednesday to prevent migrants from entering. About 100 migrants erupted in protest early Wednesday at the restrictions preventing them from reaching Germany, a favored destination. | The Keleti station has become a hot spot in the crisis, and it was still cordoned off Wednesday to prevent migrants from entering. About 100 migrants erupted in protest early Wednesday at the restrictions preventing them from reaching Germany, a favored destination. |
| The demonstrators chanted “Go! Go! Go! Germany! Germany! We want freedom!” as the bottleneck at the station caused tempers to flare and stoked desperation among the migrants as they waited. The riot police were put on standby, and uniformed police officers were seen rounding up migrants and asking for their documents at cafes and shops around the station. | The demonstrators chanted “Go! Go! Go! Germany! Germany! We want freedom!” as the bottleneck at the station caused tempers to flare and stoked desperation among the migrants as they waited. The riot police were put on standby, and uniformed police officers were seen rounding up migrants and asking for their documents at cafes and shops around the station. |
| Ahmad Saadoun, 27, from Falluja, Iraq, said he had been fingerprinted by force. He also showed cuts on his shins, where he said he had been beaten after initially refusing to comply at a camp elsewhere in Hungary. | |
| Ramadan Mustafa, 23, a chef from Qamishli, Syria, seemed equally despondent. “We are sleeping in trash,” he said. “We don’t know what to do. It’s a matter of human rights. If they don’t do something about the situation, we are going to start walking. People are getting sick.” | |
| Passengers who were not classed as migrants were being allowed to enter the station after passing checkpoints. | Passengers who were not classed as migrants were being allowed to enter the station after passing checkpoints. |
| The chaos at Keleti prompted the authorities on Tuesday to shut the station temporarily. Regular services eventually resumed, but migrants were not allowed to board unless they had the proper legal documents. | The chaos at Keleti prompted the authorities on Tuesday to shut the station temporarily. Regular services eventually resumed, but migrants were not allowed to board unless they had the proper legal documents. |
| The Hungarian police said the security presence at the station was being reinforced in response to the drastic rise in migrants, including about 2,000 who were apprehended after crossing the Serbian border into Hungary on Tuesday. | The Hungarian police said the security presence at the station was being reinforced in response to the drastic rise in migrants, including about 2,000 who were apprehended after crossing the Serbian border into Hungary on Tuesday. |
| Tamas Lederer, one of the founders of a volunteer group called Migration Aid that was started two months ago in Budapest, said that the government’s decision to close the city’s main train station to migrants had done nothing to stanch the flow from the south. | Tamas Lederer, one of the founders of a volunteer group called Migration Aid that was started two months ago in Budapest, said that the government’s decision to close the city’s main train station to migrants had done nothing to stanch the flow from the south. |
| “They keep coming, in the same numbers, and now they pile up here,” Mr. Lederer said. | “They keep coming, in the same numbers, and now they pile up here,” Mr. Lederer said. |
| Hundreds of migrants — including a few older people, but mostly young men and women, and weary families — clustered together on the filthy tile floor on tattered blankets. A few had small tents. Children scampered through the maze of makeshift encampments. | Hundreds of migrants — including a few older people, but mostly young men and women, and weary families — clustered together on the filthy tile floor on tattered blankets. A few had small tents. Children scampered through the maze of makeshift encampments. |
| Puddles of water smeared the tiles here and there, where people had tried to wash themselves. The air smelled of sweat and human waste. | Puddles of water smeared the tiles here and there, where people had tried to wash themselves. The air smelled of sweat and human waste. |
| Mr. Lederer said health issues among the migrants were also becoming pressing. “At the beginning, a month ago or so, it was mostly foot problems from the long journey they had made,” he said. “But now, there are so many, we get people with diabetes, various illnesses and, with the building of this wall along the southern border, a lot of slicing wounds from people cut on the razor wire.” | Mr. Lederer said health issues among the migrants were also becoming pressing. “At the beginning, a month ago or so, it was mostly foot problems from the long journey they had made,” he said. “But now, there are so many, we get people with diabetes, various illnesses and, with the building of this wall along the southern border, a lot of slicing wounds from people cut on the razor wire.” |
| More migrants arrived every hour from the south on Wednesday, wondering if they would be allowed to board trains or if they would need to make deals with the groups of human traffickers working the crowd or find some other way — by taxi, perhaps — to make their way out of Hungary and toward Germany. | More migrants arrived every hour from the south on Wednesday, wondering if they would be allowed to board trains or if they would need to make deals with the groups of human traffickers working the crowd or find some other way — by taxi, perhaps — to make their way out of Hungary and toward Germany. |
| The rules covering asylum seekers in the European Union, which are known as the Dublin Regulation, call for them to apply for asylum in the country where they first arrived or were registered. Hungary has been criticized by Austria for failing to register new arrivals, even as many of them have avoided any official recognition of their arrival there in hopes of finding refuge in Germany. | The rules covering asylum seekers in the European Union, which are known as the Dublin Regulation, call for them to apply for asylum in the country where they first arrived or were registered. Hungary has been criticized by Austria for failing to register new arrivals, even as many of them have avoided any official recognition of their arrival there in hopes of finding refuge in Germany. |
| “The whole system is crazy,” Mr. Lederer said. “We cannot see any point to it.” | “The whole system is crazy,” Mr. Lederer said. “We cannot see any point to it.” |
| There were signs on Wednesday that Hungary was coming to grips with the situation. Two notices posted in Arabic appeared on the walls and columns of the hallways under the train station, where the migrants have been camping out. | There were signs on Wednesday that Hungary was coming to grips with the situation. Two notices posted in Arabic appeared on the walls and columns of the hallways under the train station, where the migrants have been camping out. |
| One notice, from the German Embassy in Hungary, briefly stated that Berlin was abiding by the Dublin accord, in the latest effort by Germany to counter reports that it was relaxing the rules. | One notice, from the German Embassy in Hungary, briefly stated that Berlin was abiding by the Dublin accord, in the latest effort by Germany to counter reports that it was relaxing the rules. |
| The other notice, from the Hungarian government, instructed all migrants to report for fingerprinting and to apply for asylum, a process that could take months and offers no guarantee of approval. | The other notice, from the Hungarian government, instructed all migrants to report for fingerprinting and to apply for asylum, a process that could take months and offers no guarantee of approval. |
| In the interim, the notice said, asylum seekers would be taken to a camp, where they would have access to food and the Internet and could receive funds from Western Union. | |
| In Munich, only about 150 migrants arrived overnight, after the arrival of thousands in recent days. The authorities were taking measures to organize them to begin the process of applying for asylum. | |
| The migrants who died on Wednesday trying to reach Greece were believed to be Syrian, part of an influx of people who in recent months have poured into the Aegean coast of Turkey in hopes of traveling on to Greece and in that way gaining entry to the European Union. | The migrants who died on Wednesday trying to reach Greece were believed to be Syrian, part of an influx of people who in recent months have poured into the Aegean coast of Turkey in hopes of traveling on to Greece and in that way gaining entry to the European Union. |
| In France and Britain, service returned to normal on the Eurostar on Wednesday morning. Hundreds of passengers were delayed on five trains, in some cases for several hours, because of reports that migrants trying to get through the Channel Tunnel had blocked the tracks and tried to board or even climb on the roofs of trains near Calais. | In France and Britain, service returned to normal on the Eurostar on Wednesday morning. Hundreds of passengers were delayed on five trains, in some cases for several hours, because of reports that migrants trying to get through the Channel Tunnel had blocked the tracks and tried to board or even climb on the roofs of trains near Calais. |
| “The trespassers are still being removed from the tunnel and away from the tracks,” Eurostar wrote on Twitter late Tuesday night. “We will let you know as soon as we have more info.” | |
| They were eventually removed, and Eurostar said that at least two trains had returned to their original points of departure in London and Paris. The other three arrived at their destinations in those two cities, the company said. | |
| “Trains are now traveling as normal, and passengers that were sent back and couldn’t complete their journey are being rebooked onto other trains,” Rob Haycocks, a spokesman for Eurostar, said Wednesday morning. | “Trains are now traveling as normal, and passengers that were sent back and couldn’t complete their journey are being rebooked onto other trains,” Rob Haycocks, a spokesman for Eurostar, said Wednesday morning. |
| Some migrants in France have cut through fences and stowed away in trucks or other vehicles in an effort to cross the English Channel, while one man nearly succeeded in walking the entirety of the Channel Tunnel before he was arrested, just steps away from arriving in Britain. | Some migrants in France have cut through fences and stowed away in trucks or other vehicles in an effort to cross the English Channel, while one man nearly succeeded in walking the entirety of the Channel Tunnel before he was arrested, just steps away from arriving in Britain. |
| Ten migrants have been killed near Calais since June trying to reach Britain, five of them on the Channel Tunnel site and five others on the highway or near the port, according to Eurotunnel, the company that manages and operates the crossing. | Ten migrants have been killed near Calais since June trying to reach Britain, five of them on the Channel Tunnel site and five others on the highway or near the port, according to Eurotunnel, the company that manages and operates the crossing. |
| While Europe seeks to cope with one of the worst migration crises in decades, governments have been deeply divided over how to address the challenge. Germany has called for greater coordination across the European Union, while other countries, including Britain and Hungary, have insisted that immigration must remain firmly under the control of national governments. | While Europe seeks to cope with one of the worst migration crises in decades, governments have been deeply divided over how to address the challenge. Germany has called for greater coordination across the European Union, while other countries, including Britain and Hungary, have insisted that immigration must remain firmly under the control of national governments. |
| Europe’s leaders have remained polarized in recent days over how to respond to the crisis. On Tuesday, Austria’s interior minister, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, called on Germany, the preferred destination for many of the migrants, to clarify its stance on asylum rules. And the Austrian chancellor, Werner Faymann, lashed out at Hungary for what he said was a failure to register migrants before they were sent on, even as Hungary criticized Austria for pointing fingers. | Europe’s leaders have remained polarized in recent days over how to respond to the crisis. On Tuesday, Austria’s interior minister, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, called on Germany, the preferred destination for many of the migrants, to clarify its stance on asylum rules. And the Austrian chancellor, Werner Faymann, lashed out at Hungary for what he said was a failure to register migrants before they were sent on, even as Hungary criticized Austria for pointing fingers. |